Release Detail

June 17, 2004 - New York's Government Is Broken, Voters Say 2-1,
Quinnipiac University Poll Finds;
Constitutional Convention Must Fix It

By a 67 - 25 percent margin, New York State voters say state government is broken and
must be fixed, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters say
47 - 43 percent that the State Legislature is not capable of reforming itself, and 52 - 34
percent that there should be a constitutional convention to reform state government.

The state's failure to pass a budget by the April 1 deadline is a "very serious
problem," 55 percent of voters say, while 34 percent say, "somewhat serious;" 7 percent
say "not very serious" and 3 percent say "not a problem at all," the independent
Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

"Two-thirds of New York State voters say our state government is broken, but
there is only lukewarm support for allowing the State Legislature to put itself together
again and only the slimmest majority for calling a constitutional convention to do the
job," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Voters disapprove 51 - 29 percent of the way the State Legislature is doing its
job, but approve 54 - 24 percent of their State Assembly member, and 58 - 25 percent
of their State Senator.

"When asked to rate Albany politicians, voters say their own legislators are pretty
good, while the legislative leaders are not so good and the legislature overall is pretty
bad," Carroll said.

Sexual misconduct in the State Legislature is a "very serious problem," 28 percent
of voters say, while 28 percent say, "somewhat serious;" 17 percent say "not very
serious" and 13 percent say "not a problem at all." There is little difference between
men and women in their responses.

New York State legislators are no more or less corrupt than those in other states,
69 percent of voters say, while 17 percent say they are more corrupt and 5 percent say
less corrupt.

Only 2 percent of voters say the overall quality of New York State government is
"excellent," while 44 percent say "good;" 35 percent say "not so good," and 17 percent
say, "poor."

"Men and women in New York agree that sexual misconduct is a serious problem
in Albany," Carroll said. "When it comes to corruption, most voters put their
legislature on a par with other states.

"You might ask about that 2 percent who think our government is excellent: Who
are those people?"

From June 9 - 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,466 New York State
registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts
public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and
nationwide as a public service and for research.

For additional data -- www.quinnipiac.edu or call (203) 582-5201

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling
its job?

App Dis DK/NA

Jun 17, 2004 29 51 20
Jun 25, 2003 32 51 17

TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Sheldon Silver is handling his
job as State Assembly Speaker?